The Blacklist: The Complete First Season

James Spader stars in this high-concept conspiracy/espionage thriller as renegade government agent Raymond “Red” Reddington, a man who after decades of going rogue in the international criminal underworld turns himself in to the FBI—offering to help catch the world's worst criminals. The catch is that he will be free to continue his own operations (so the targets will not suspect him of betrayal) and will only work with young profiler Liz Keen (Megan Boone), who is fresh from Quantico and lacks field experience. Red has an almost paternal affection for her, but their exact relationship is left up in the air at season's end. The episodes are generally built around efforts to take down the villain of the week, while larger narrative threads (including an elaborate surveillance operation targeting Agent Keen) are woven throughout. A slick show with lots of action and ambiguous figures, The Blacklist wraps its dark conspiracies in high-end production values, but there's not much personality to the supporting cast (including Harry Lennix as unit boss Harold Cooper, stuck in a dimensionless role) or the recurring shadow players in the government power games (Alan Alda and Jane Alexander), let alone the bland Keen or her veteran partner, Agent Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff). Spader carries it all, but he's a heavyweight, lifting the show with a terrific performance. Compiling all 22 episodes from the 2013–14 premiere season, extras include episode commentaries and behind-the-scenes featurettes (the Blu-ray release also features additional featurettes). Recommended. (S. Axmaker)